Jewish groups urge Montreal City Council to jettison anti-Israel motion

Canada’s organized Jewish community is calling on the Montreal City Council to reject an “incendiary” anti-Israel motion set to be debated on Monday.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs accused Projet Montréal, the city’s official opposition party, of “importing a foreign conflict” to City Hall “while local emergencies pile up,” including homelessness, drugs and housing. CIJA said the motion does not refer to Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Introduced by Projet Montréal city councilors Nathalie Goulet, Ericka Alneus and Alex Norris, the proposal calls on Montreal to recognize and denounce what it describes as an “apartheid regime” and “genocide” in “Palestine.” It also calls on the city to suspend institutional ties with Israel’s current government, its institutions and municipalities until Israel “returns to internationally recognized borders” and ends what the motion describes as violations of Palestinian rights and international law.

The motion, action on which was postponed after being introduced in June, reaffirms opposition to antisemitism and Islamophobia. It also says Jewish residents and those of Israeli origin should not be held responsible for the actions of the Israeli government.

CIJA and Federation CJA, its Quebec partner, shared a video of Raquel Look, whose son Alexandre was killed in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack at the Supernova music festival in southern Israel. In the video, she urges city councilors to reject the motion.

“This motion seeks to divide our city,” Look said, adding that violence and hate-motivated acts targeting Jews have risen in Montreal since Oct. 7. She cited statistics showing that Canada’s Jewish community experiences a disproportionate number of hate crimes.

“I am begging you,” Look said. “Do not let the intolerance that tore my son away from me take root and destroy our city.”